1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image inputting apparatus compressing the data of an image shot by a device having a camera capability, or the data of an image read by a portable scanner, and storing the compressed image in a memory.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an image inputting apparatus, which is configured by a cellular phone comprising a camera capability composed of a lens, and an image capturing element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), etc., compresses the data of a shot image, and stores the compressed image in a memory so as to reduce the storage space of the memory storing shot image data. Such an image capturing element is normally configured to capture a horizontally oriented image, and its original usage is to be embedded into a main body by being horizontally placed.
Generally, however, most cellular phones have a vertically oriented body for ease of portability, and also have a vertically oriented display unit so as to secure a large display region that suits the vertically oriented body. Accordingly, an image capturing element is embedded into a cellular phone by being rotated 90 degrees with reference to the body of the cellular phone, namely, by being vertically placed, so that the vertical and the horizontal directions of an image shot with a camera capability suit the vertically oriented display unit.
However, when a CCD reads an image shot with a camera capability by pixel, the image is read in a horizontal direction even in this case. Accordingly, the read image data is output to an internal image processing unit by being rotated 90 degrees with reference to the body of the cellular phone. Therefore, a correction to make the image data erect by rotating the image data 90 degrees in a reverse direction is made by the image processing unit within the cellular phone so as to make the orientation of the shot image and that displayed on a display unit match, before the image is compressed as described above.
Furthermore, with an image inputting apparatus configured by a portable information appliance such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) comprising a hand-operated image scanner, a read operation can be performed in an arbitrary direction because of its small apparatus size. The read operation can be possibly performed for a manuscript to be read in a total of 8 directions resultant from combinations of up and down, and side to side directions (4 directions), and a way of holding the apparatus (2 ways).
FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C show such a hand-operated image scanner and a PDA. FIG. 1A shows a PDA 1. In this figure, a display unit 2 is arranged on almost the entire front of the PDA 1. The display unit 2 comprises a touch panel that is arranged by being overlaid on an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). With an input pen 3 that accompanies the PDA 1 and is configured by a resinous thin stick, etc., various types of inputs can be made through the display unit 2. Additionally, a plurality of input buttons 4 are arranged below the display unit 2. Various types of instructions can be input also with the input buttons 4.
Normally, such a PDA 1 comprises a card insertion slot 5 at its top. For example, a PC card, a CF card, etc. is inserted into the card insertion slot 5, and used.
FIG. 1B shows a card-type image scanner 6, which is used by being inserted into the card insertion slot 5 of the above described PDA 1, and is an ultra-small image reading device. This card-type image scanner 6 is configured by a scanning unit 7 which reads an image, and a connection card unit 8. By inserting the connection card unit 8 into the card insertion slot 5 of the PDA 1 as indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 1B, a small image inputting apparatus 9 into which the PDA 1 and the card-type image scanner 6 are integrated is obtained as shown in FIG. 1C.
FIG. 2A is a side view showing the state where an image is read by the above described image inputting apparatus 9, whereas FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing the configuration of the card-type image scanner 6, which is one of the constituent elements of the image inputting apparatus 9.
Firstly, the PDA 1 is held by hand, the scanning unit 7 of the card-type image scanner (hereinafter referred to simply as a scanner) 6 is oriented downward to contact the upper surface of a medium to be read 10 such as paper, etc. as shown in FIG. 2A, and the scanning unit 7 is made to read an image on the medium to be read 10 by sliding the PDA 1 in a reading/scanning direction indicated by an arrow B.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the scanning unit 7 of the scanner 6 comprises: an image reading unit 7-1 optically reading the image on the medium to be read 10, and converting the read optical image data into an analog electric signal; and a move amount measuring unit 7-2 measuring the move amount of the image reading unit 7-1 on the medium to be read 10.
Additionally, the connection card unit 8 of the scanner 6 comprises: an image signal processing unit 8-1 processing an analog image signal a output from the above described image reading unit 7-1; a read controlling unit 8-2 controlling the driving of the image reading unit 7-1 by outputting a driving signal c to the image reading unit 7-1 based on a move amount signal b input from the move amount measuring unit 7-2; and a PC card I/F (interface) unit 8-3 inputting/outputting read data and an instruction signal to/from the PDA 1, which is an external information processing device. Read data (image signal) resultant from the scanning shown in FIG. 2A is output from the PC card I/F unit 8-3 of the connection card unit 8 to the PDA 1.
FIGS. 3A and 3B show an image inputting apparatus configured by a hand-operated bar image scanner and a personal computer. An image scanner 11 shown in FIG. 3A is configured by a line sensor 12 which is arranged to occupy nearly two-thirds of the longitudinal direction on the lower surface, and a grip unit 13 composed of a portion where the line sensor 12 is not arranged. An LED 14 is arranged at the upper end of the portion where the line sensor 12 is arranged. A connection cord 15 is externally drawn from the grip unit 13, and a dedicated PC card 16 is connected to the end of the connection cord 15 as shown in FIG. 3B.
The PC card 16 is inserted into a PC card slot 18 of a personal computer 17 as shown in FIG. 3B, whereby an image inputting apparatus into which the image scanner 11 and the personal computer 17 are integrated is built.
Also in this case, to read an image on the medium to be read 10, the grip unit 13 of the image scanner 11 is held, and the face of the line sensor 12 is made to contact the medium to be read 10, and slid on the medium to be read 10. The image scanner 11 comprises a processing unit having a capability similar to that of the scanning unit 7 in FIG. 2B, and also the PC card 16 comprises a processing unit having a capability similar to that of the connection card unit 8 in FIG. 2B. Accordingly, image data read by the image scanner 11 is captured by the image processing unit of the personal computer 17.
FIGS. 4A to 4H specifically show that there are a total of 8 scanning directions where an image on the medium to be read 10 is read by the above described card-type image scanner 6, the bar image scanner 11, etc. Note that the orientation of the medium to be read 10 is the same in all of these figures. Here, an explanation is provided by taking the bar image scanner 11 as an example.
Firstly, FIGS. 4A to 4D show the cases where the grip unit 13 of the image scanner 11 is held by the right hand to read a manuscript (the medium to be read 10. The same is applied to FIGS. 4B to 4H). FIG. 4A shows the case where the image scanner 11 is slid from the top to the bottom of the manuscript. As shown in this figure, the line sensor 12 first reads the uppermost part of the image of the manuscript from the left (the left side when viewed in this figure. The same is applied to FIGS. 4B to 4H) to the right as indicated by an arrow ml, and the image scanner 11 is then slid toward the bottom as indicated by an arrow S1. In this way, this read operation is repeated toward the bottom while reading the image from the left to the right in a similar manner as indicated by arrows m2 and m3. At this time, the image data output from the image scanner 11 to the personal computer 17 is erect image data.
Next, when the image scanner 11 is slid from the bottom to the top of the manuscript as shown in FIG. 4B, the line sensor 12 reads the lowermost part of the image of the manuscript from the left to the right, and the image scanner 11 is then slid toward the top. In this way, this read operation is repeated toward the top while reading the image from the left to the right in a similar manner. At this time, the image data output from the image scanner 11 to the personal computer 17 is image data obtained by rotating the erect image 180 degrees, and by mirror-reversing the erect image.
Additionally, when the image scanner 11 is slid from the left to the right of the manuscript as shown in FIG. 4C, the line sensor 12 reads the leftmost part of the image of the manuscript from the top to the bottom, and the image scanner 11 is then slid to the right. In this way, this read operation is repeated toward the right while reading the image from the top to the bottom in a similar manner. At this time, the image data output from the image scanner 11 to the personal computer 17 is image data obtained by rotating the erect image 90 degrees to the left, and by mirror-reversing the erect image.
Furthermore, when the image scanner 11 is slid from the right to the left of the manuscript as shown in FIG. 4D, the line sensor 12 reads the rightmost part of the image of the manuscript from the top to the bottom, and the image scanner 11 is then slid to the left. In this way, this read operation is repeated toward the left while reading the image from the top to the bottom in a similar manner. At this time, the image data output from the image scanner 11 to the personal computer 17 is image data obtained by rotating the erect image 90 degrees to the left.
FIGS. 4E to 4H show the cases where the grip unit 13 of the image scanner 11 is held by the left hand to read the manuscript. FIG. 4E shows the case where the image scanner 11 is slid from the top to the bottom of the manuscript. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4E, the line sensor 12 first reads the uppermost part of the image of the manuscript from the right to the left as indicated by an arrow n1, and the image scanner 11 is then slid toward the bottom as indicated by an arrow S2. In this way, this read operation is repeated toward the bottom while reading the image from the right to the left in a similar manner as indicated by arrows n2 and n3. At this time, the image data output from the image scanner 11 to the personal computer 17 is image data obtained by mirror-reversing the erect image.
Additionally, when the image scanner 11 is slid from the bottom to the top of the manuscript as shown in FIG. 4F, the image data output from the image scanner 11 to the personal computer 17 is image data obtained by rotating the erect image 180 degrees.
Furthermore, when the image scanner 11 is slid from the left to the right of the manuscript as shown in FIG. 4G, the image data output from the image scanner 11 to the personal computer 17 is image data obtained by rotating the erect image 90 degrees to the right.
Still further, when the image scanner 11 is slid from the right to the left of the manuscript as shown in FIG. 4H, the image data output from the image scanner 11 to the personal computer 17 is image data obtained by rotating the erect image 90 degrees to the right, and by mirror-reversing the erect image.
As described above, as an image read by the hand-operated scanner, an image that is rotated, mirror-reversed, or rotated and mirror-reversed is input except for the case where the read image is input as a positionally correct erect image. Accordingly, with the PDA 1 or the personal computer 17, a process for inversely rotating and/or mirror-reversing the image data input by being rotated and/or mirror-reversed as described above is performed by the internal image processing unit so as to correct the image data to a erect image according to a user instruction, before the data is compressed.
Additionally, the next read operation is enabled after a read rotated and/or mirror-reversed image is corrected, compressed, and stored in a memory each time a read operation is performed (for one page).
Furthermore, also with a portable information terminal such as a cellular phone, a PDA, etc., shot image data is rotated in most cases in a similar manner as described above. For some portable information terminals, their CCD portion can be detached, and image shooting can be performed by orientating the CCD in an arbitrary orientation by reconnecting to the main body with a cord. Accordingly, also for a cellular phone or a portable information terminal, etc. having a shooting capability, a rotation correction prior to the compression of captured image data is a necessary process.
Note that if an image is a shot image, it is not mirror-reversed, but only rotated. As a method compressing image data, a JPEG method is used in many cases if an image is a color or a grayscale image. If an image is a binary image, various methods such as MH, MR, JBIG, etc. are used.
In the meantime, the data processing performances of the above described portable information terminal such as a cellular phone, a PDA, etc. are generally lower than a normal information processing device like a personal computer.
FIG. 5 schematically shows the flow of processes performed in the case where image data is processed by such a data processing device having low data processing performance. As shown in FIG. 5, the flow of the processes is composed of a “read” process 21 for reading a manuscript, a “rotation” process 22 for making a rotation correction for a rotated and/or mirror-reversed image, an “image compression” process 23 for compressing the image data corrected to be a erect image, a “storage” process 24 for storing the compressed image data in a memory, and a “display” process 25 for displaying the read image on a monitor screen after these processes are terminated.
The above described processes 22 to 25 become a waiting time until the next read operation. As described above, the next read operation cannot be started until a read image is corrected by being rotated, compressed, and stored in a memory. Therefore, the read operation cannot be immediately started due to an occurrence of the waiting time, and a user is made to wait, leading to a problem that the operability becomes poor.
Furthermore, the waiting time becomes longer because the processing time increases by the amount of time which corresponds to the rotation correction process of an image in addition to its compression time. Therefore, a user must wait for a longer time, leading to a poorer operability.